Brilliantly Executed

Rating: 9/10 (3 August 2013)

When I first heard of Pacific Rim, I wasn't expecting much. A film about gigantic robots fighting enormous aliens? An apocalypse that must be "cancelled"? When I entered the theatre, I prepared myself for a generic over-the-top, badly-executed blockbuster, loosely based on the Transformers franchise. Fortunately for my brain cells, this wasn't the case.
When a film is executed properly, viewers are allowed to forget any plot weaknesses and just enjoy the film. Certain films are easier to pull off than others, depending on the complexity, originality, and strength of the plot. A film about an imminent alien invasion and a resistance of gigantic robots is certainly difficult to pull off, but Guillermo del Toro dismissed this disadvantage and executed Pacific Rim perfectly. The writing was quite decent, the costume and set designs were brilliant, the special effects were incredible, and the acting was a cut above blockbuster standards. Not to mention the pacing, which was perfect and kept me captivated throughout. Because of this, the generic plot was easy to overlook.
Despite the mediocre plot, many clichés were purposefully cast aside. For example, in one scene, Raleigh Becket (Hunnam) says "let's check for a pulse" and incinerates a monster that could have been alive. A cliché that I see in many action films is the following: an enemy rises up and attacks the main character from behind after the main character thinks that it is dead. However, Del Toro skillfully avoided this tiresome cliché, and added some comic relief in the process. Pacific Rim didn't contain much of a romance subplot, either, and Raleigh Becket's partner (Rinko Kakuchi) wasn't portrayed as a beauty model (a ridiculous archetype that I hate).
At first glance, one might think that Pacific Rim has no underlying theme. It could be considered a film featuring nothing more than mindless violence, and completely centred around robots fighting aliens. While this is true to a certain extent, cooperation was a large part of Pacific Rim - two pilots in each robot, thousands of scientists and engineers collaborating with each other, and hundreds of nations pooling their resources to build the Jaegers. Pacific Rim stands out among many other blockbusters as a film which actually tried to contain a message.
In conclusion, Del Toro executed Pacific Rim brilliantly. Some of the casting was great, including Idris Elba as Stacker Pentacost, and Rinko Kakuchi as Mako Mori. The music, special effects and pacing are so incredible that you'll have no trouble overlooking the plot's mediocrity. I would give Pacific Rim a rating of 9.3/10, with points taken off for a weak plot, some mediocre performances, and a few lame lines here and there. However, there are plenty of redeeming factors, and the film is entertaining to boot. If you're worried because this film looks like Transformers, you're making a huge mistake. Watch it yourself - you won't be disappointed!
-Neo Stark